


Mending Warped Designs

by siderealSandman



Series: Miraculous Ladybug: Rift Wars [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drama & Romance, F/M, Fix-It (of my own work), Friends to Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Miraculous Ladybug PV, Multi, Openly Hostile to Canon, Openly Hostile to Character Salt, PV!Felix, Potassium Fic, Reconciliation, We Stan All Characters In This Household TYVM, Worldbuilding, action-adventure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:35:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28993800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siderealSandman/pseuds/siderealSandman
Summary: Three years after Hawkmoth's death, Marinette lives an ordinary life in London pursuing her dreams far away from the burden of being a superhero. Now joined with Ladybug, she grapples with balancing her career and her growing powers while being haunted by her past mistakes.But when an unstoppable duo with apocalyptic aims rises with new Miraculous at their fingertips, Ladybug must work to mend the rift between her and her former partner if either of them have any hope of saving the world once again.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Bridgette/Félix (Miraculous Ladybug PV), Chloé Bourgeois/Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Luka Couffaine/Kagami Tsurugi
Series: Miraculous Ladybug: Rift Wars [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1106025
Comments: 56
Kudos: 143





	1. So Come Rain On My Parade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "When the world rots, we set it afire. For the sake of the next world. It's the one thing we do right...unlike those fools on the outside." 
> 
> -Dark Souls III, Hidetaka Miyazaki

_Toronto, Ontario_

_August 6, 2005_

* * *

“Anything else, Mr. Li?” 

A pair of watery grey eyes scanned the warm case of pastries before him. “You know what, go ahead and throw some more lemon squares in,” Master Li said, passing another note across the counter as the barista packaged up some more pastries. 

“Are your grandkids staying the night again?” The barista asked as she added the lemon squares to the order. 

“I've been enlisted to help them with their homework,” Mr. Li chuckled, stuffing the change in the tip-jar as he effortlessly picked up the bulging box of sweets with his little finger. “Calculus is easier to tutor when dessert is involved." 

“Sure I can’t offer you another apple cruller?” The barista asked somewhat jokingly. 

“No,” Mr. Li laughed, patting his bulging stomach. “My doctor would-” 

The old man trailed off, eyes growing distant as a dark look fluttered across his face. The barista’s smile wavered as the cheerful old man that had been visiting her parents’ coffee shop since she was a child suddenly looked more terrified and terrifying than she could remember. 

The moment passed in an instant as the old man’s eyes took on the same sadly optimistic expression he wore every day. “You know...I think I’ll take that cruller.” 

“You only live once,” The barista chirped, retrieving the pastry from the case. 

“Indeed,” Mr. Li said quietly, passing a $100 bill across the counter. “Keep the change.” 

“Sir, I think you gave me the wrong-” The barista frowned as she glanced up from the note to see the old man gone, the door swinging as the cold breeze came in after him. 

* * *

_The Golden Goose’s_ apple crullers weren’t as sweet as some of the others he had tried, but Master Li preferred it that way. Too many times, bakers tried to eradicate anything sour, salty, or bitter from their desserts; as though they feared being anything less than overly saccharine. It was...dishonest, Master Li supposed; to try and erase what made sour fruit good to begin with. 

On the last night of his life, as he hurried down the rain-slicked streets towards his shop off Dundas Street, the only thing that Master Li regretted was the crullers he didn't eat. 

> **_It's going to rain next Tuesday at three; pack an umbrella and take the bus home._ **
> 
> **_I love you._ **

The text message was sent as Master Li snapped his phone in half, igniting it and tossing it into a nearby dumpster without looking back. As he walked, his eyes scanned the faces of people he passed, every friend or stranger he saw was scrutinized for a tingle of magic to suggest another face might be lurking under smiles sent his way. Felix wouldn't waste any time getting Bridgette to safety; the bag had been packed for weeks after returning from Tibet, stuffed with everything he didn't want He or Fu to find. He knew what was left of his order was coming for him and he was not about to let all the _wrong_ he had done in the past few years be for nothing. 

The flickering lights of his bookstore greeted him without any sign of his former friends lurking around the front door. Still, Master Li traipsed around the back of the building, ducked through an alleyway, and slipped in the service door towards the door at the back. Fumbling with the box of food, Master Li waved his hand to unlock the strange, antiquated locks that held his back door in place. 

Almost immediately, he knew something was wrong. 

The small, greying old man sitting at the kitchen table looked up as the back door open, his eyes dark and unfriendly as Master Li stepped through the back door. “Fu- _gu_ ,” Master Li chuckled, eyes falling on the teapot bubbling over a hotplate and three cups arranged around the table. “What a surprise…” 

“Is it?” Master Fu asked quietly, nodding at the cups around the table. “It seems you knew we were coming.” 

The side door opened and a tall, white-haired woman stepped through, sleeves rolled up and eyes flinty as she blocked the doorway. “I couldn’t find them; seems like he liquidated half his library while he was at it.” 

“Almost makes me think he was trying to hide something,” Master Fu said. Master Li’s eyes glanced down to the corner of his kitchen floor, carefully dragging the corner of the rug over a loose board as he grabbed a canister of loose tea leaves from the cabinet. If his colleagues noticed him covering the hatch that led to an escape tunnel he had installed in the fifties, neither of them indicated as much. 

"You know, the quality of greetings has really gone downhill lately," Master Li chuckled, meandering his way over to the cabinet. "I remember a time when a _hello_ was in order between old friends...forgive me, but you're being rather rude." 

"It would be _rude_ if we were still friends," Master He said, hands clenching at her side. 

“Li,” Master He asked quietly. “What happened to Master Cao?” 

Master Li said nothing as he pulled a box of green tea out of the cabinet, the eyes of his former friends studying his every move. 

“We had a disagreement,” Master Li said, adding leaves to the pot and sitting down opposite Master Fu. "Sadly, I lacked the tact to sway him to my way of thinking...I'm sorry to say we did not part on the best of terms." 

“So it would seem…” Master Fu mumbled, eyes trailing over Master Li’s figure. “And where is Nooroo?” 

“I don’t see Duusu anywhere, either,” Master He said. “We didn’t find the Peacock on Cao’s body...you wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?” 

“Ah,” Master Li said with an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m afraid I lost the Miraculous in a bad game of poker down at the senior center. I think Mrs. Chau has them in her jewelry box, if you’d like to try and get them back…then again, she has a horse racing addiction, so the pawn shop might be a better place to start looking.” 

Master Fu’s fingertips drummed on the head of his cane as Master He leaned on the back of his chair, eyes boring into Li’s. 

“Oh, come now,” Master Li chuckled as he felt a tingle of probing magical energy tickle the back of his mind. “Let’s not spoil our last meal together with discourtesy.”

“It’s discourteous to lie, isn’t it?” Master He said as as Master Li clipped open the box of pastries. “Seems like an awful lot of food for one man...are you sure you’re not expecting guests?” 

“I have to keep my figure, you know,” Master Li laughed, a loud, booming laugh that echoed off the walls of the kitchen. “I like my food; you’ve always known that.”

“I have,” Master He said, eyes roaming around the table as she took in the three cups that Master Li filled with tea. “Although after seeing what you did to Cao...I’m not sure I know who I’m talking to anymore.” 

Master Li shrugged. “People are allowed to change, aren't they?” 

“Not like this,” Master Fu said, leaning back in his chair. “I’ve been meaning to ask...have you seen Zhongli lately?” 

“Not in a while,” Master Li said, taking a sip of his tea. “I think he mentioned he was going hiking in Tibet?” 

An uncomfortable silence settled on the table as Master Li smacked his lips thoughtfully. “Dangerous trails this time of year...I know he’s capable, but any of us are capable of meeting unfortunate ends, aren’t we?” 

"Did he also _disagree_ with you?" Master He asked coldly. 

"We haven't seen eye-to-eye in centuries," Master Li shrugged. "That's nothing new." 

Master Fu’s jaw tightened, the Turtle Miraculous clinking on the table as he set his hands down in front of him. “...why?” 

Master Li didn’t need to ask what Master Fu was asking about. Glancing at the clock and doing the math in his head, he figured he had bought enough time. The Miraculous, his research, and his secret students were now out of reach. 

“Do you know what the date is today?” Master Li asked, glancing at the calendar on the wall. “August 6th...hard to believe it’s been sixty years already.” 

“Time certainly flies,” Master He said. “...you know there was nothing we could have done.” 

“Nothing?” Master Li chuckled. “Just like there was _nothing_ we could do when the Germans rolled into France, right? _Sho ga nai,_ as they say...although that's not true, is it?” 

“Li-” 

“Oh yes, that’s _not our purpose_ ,” Master Li said, bitterness creeping into his cheery tone. “Heavens _forbid_ we use our power to better the lives of our fellow humans...but you two don’t think of yourselves like that anymore, do you?” 

“The Miraculous are _not_ tools to advance the aims of one species over another,” Master Fu growled. “We are not the gods of this world, Li-” 

“Perhaps we should have been,” Master Li said, tearing the corner off a cruller and popping into his mouth. “Tell me...if two children are playing unattended and one of them finds their parents' gun...is what happens next the child's fault? Or should the parent have paying closer attention to keep their children from hurting one another?" 

“And you would have us, what, rule the world to prevent our _children_ from getting hurt?” Master He scoffed. “We’ve _had_ this conversation already, Li-” 

“Yes,” Master Li said. “Conversation doesn’t seem to solve anything anymore...and we lack the time to deliberate. This world...you _know_ it's dying." 

“There is time to correct course,” Master Fu said gently. 

“No... _no_ , we have passed that point,” Master Li sighed, running his hands through his thinning white hair. “Maybe if we had done something sooner but...well, nothing left to do but try again, hm?” 

Master Li poured three cups of tea, passing them to his friends who never took their eyes off him. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give me the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, would you?” 

Master Fu’s icy silence was the only answer Master Li needed. 

“No...didn’t think so,” Master Li chuckled, leaning back in his chair as he glanced between his old friends. “Wouldn’t be much of a Guardian if you did...you _must_ maintain the _balance,_ eh? Better to maintain the _awful_ status quo than try for something better.” 

“It is when your definition of _better_ involves untold suffering and _death_ ,” Master He spat. "For all your flowery words, you would _butcher_ ninety percent of humanity on the longest of _long shots_ that _cannot work_." 

“Humanity has suffered and died for thousands of years,” Master Li said. “They will suffer and die to see a new world born...but that suffering is nothing compared to the misery the world will endure if we do _nothing_ . We are running out of shots to take; they _all_ have to be long shots from here on out.” 

“And if you’re wrong?” Master Fu challenged. 

“Fu...we are all of us living on borrowed time,” Master Li said. “When famine and disaster ravage the world, do you suppose your Chosen will be _grateful_ that you held back and did _nothing_ to make the world a better place for them? How long do you think you can keep your pupils from doing what you lack the stomach to do?”

The old man had melted away, eyes burning with a kind of rage that only grew hotter as time passed. “Or is it better to keep their true potential from them, hm? Nice, obedient little pets that do only what you ask of them, ignorant of the power they possess?” 

“The well-being of the Chosen is no longer your concern,” Master He said. “After all you’ve done, do you really think we’re going to let you walk free?” 

“No...I didn’t think you would,” Master Li chuckled, hands spreading out on the table in front of him. “Not that it matters what happens to me anymore.” 

Master Li slowly stood up, stretching his neck with an audible pop. “Small sticks must be used as kindling if you want to start a proper fire." 

* * *

Across town, a manhole cover shifted in the corner of a dark alley. A pair of wide, fearful green eyes peeked out from behind a matted curtain of blonde hair, scanning the streets for any sign of danger. 

“Okay...okay, I think it’s safe,” Felix mumbled warily, pulling himself out of the manhole and reaching down to haul up a dark haired girl of fifteen clutching a bulging leather sack to her chest like her life depended on it. “Come on...let’s get going-” 

“We need to go back,” Bridgette said suddenly, starting down the street before Felix grabbed her by the wrist. “Felix, let _go_ , we need to-” 

“We _need_ to do what Master Li wanted us to do!” Felix insisted. “That _means_ getting _out_ of the city! We have to-” 

“ _You_ take the Miraculous and go then!” Bridgette said, twisting out of Felix’s grip and shoving the bag into his arms. “I’m going back-” 

“Bridgette!” 

“He _needs us!”_ Bridgette shrieked, drawing confused looks from several passers by. “We can _win,_ if we-” 

A distant _boom_ across the city, followed by a tremor that rocked the ground beneath their feet. The sidewalk they stood on splintered, buckling under the weight of an enormous explosion as orange tinged smoke crawled upwards in the night sky.

Felix couldn’t tell if the anguish he felt was his or Bridgette’s; by the time he had the sense to check, she had turned and bolted, tearing through the crowd that streamed away from the scene of destruction. _“Bri!”_

Bridgette was deaf to Felix’s cries as she tore down the city streets, the world a blur except for the smell of smoke and flames that cut through the bitter chill of the night. 

_He can’t be dead. He can’t be dead. He can’t be dead. He can’t be-_

She cut through the park overlooking Master Li’s home, bounding over a bench and coming to a stop as the blackened, smoking crater where her Master’s house had been stared up at her. Most of the neighborhood had been wiped out as emergency personnel raced towards an already doomed scene. 

Bridgette felt Felix slam into her, arms wrapping around her shoulders. Someone was screaming and it was only after her throat burned in pain that she realized that someone was her. 

* * *

The bubble shield Jade Turtle had erected dissipated as Master Crane stared mutely at the spot where Master Li had been only moments earlier. 

“Idiot…” Master Crane panted, staring around the cavernous pit where the house used to be. “What was the _point_ of that? We weren’t going to _kill_ him…” 

“He had no intention of ever coming with us,” Jade Turtle sighed, picking up a charred leather tome as it fell apart in his hands. “What a waste...what a terrible waste…” 

Master Crane bent down, picking up a fragment of tea-cup with a thoughtful glare. “...he was expecting someone.” 

“Who?” Jade Turtle asked. “We’re the only ones left now…Cao and the others...he killed them all, didn't he?” 

“I don’t know,” Master Crane muttered. “Do you suppose he could have had-” 

The sound of sirens drew their attention back to reality.

“We need to go,” Jade Turtle said, grabbing Master Crane’s sleeve. “Now.” 

* * *

The cold, late-summer air bit into Bridgette’s tear stained cheeks, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Her eyes stared dimly into the flames that consumed the neighborhood she had lived in since her mother had passed, watching years of history go up in smoke. 

“What are we supposed to do now?” Bridgette mumbled after what felt like an eternity rooted to the wet grass. 

“There’s...there’s money in a bank account,” Felix said, clearing his throat of the lump that had formed while watching his mentor’s home burn in the distance. It wouldn’t do for both of them to go to pieces; there would be time to mourn his second father _after_ he got Bridgette out of the city. “And a safety deposit box we need to clean out...after that…” 

There didn’t seem to be an easy answer for _after that_. A worn leather sack full of books could point them in the right direction; the bracelets around their wrists would keep them from being discovered by magical means. But nothing could replace the clear-eyed purpose of their mentor; the skill for seeing all outcomes of a situation and prodding it until he got what he wanted out of it. 

The captain had saved the ship and left it rudderless in a stormy sea. 

A flicker of movement in the rubble drew Bridgette’s eyes as two figures made their way out of the wreckage. From the distance, she could only make out a tall figure in white and a shorter one in green before they vanished in a snap of purple light. 

“He knew they were coming for him…” Bridgette said softly. "He knew his time was running out." 

“That’s why he sent us away,” Felix said, tugging a small wooden box out of the bag in Bridgette’s arms. Inside, a glittering purple butterfly pin and blue peacock brooch reflected the light coming off the inferno that spread in spite of the fire department’s frantic efforts. 

“So we could carry on without him,” Bridgette said as the cold, wet feeling of fear in her stomach hardened into something she could use as a weapon. For years, she had meditated on Destruction and thought she understood it well enough to tap into Its power. But watching her home and family burn was, for lack of a better term, _enlightening_. In the flames, she saw old buildings burn away, slumping over and crumbling into heaps of embers that refused to stop burning no matter how much water was poured on it. It was sad to see so much go, but the buildings themselves were old and falling apart. Stronger, newer, safer buildings would be built in their place and the people who lived there would have the fire to thank for their new homes. 

[Fire seeped deeper into her soul, taking hold in the home she had made to keep it. ](https://youtu.be/3xRzX7G6oYI?t=68)

A tingle of magical energy drew her attention back to the boy with his arms around her. His fingertips danced with green light, bathing the dark corner of the park in an emerald glow as he focused on the ground in front of her. A small, halting red rose pushed its way out of the dirt, nature itself bending out of the way as Felix plucked it out of the ground. His fingers were cold as he passed the rose into her hands, and so she did the only thing she could to warm him up. 

“So that’s what we’ll do,” Felix said, watching a spark jump from Bridgette’s fingertips to ignite the rose, the flame warming them as they huddled together under the tree. “Burn it down.”

“And start again,” Bridgette said, her blue eyes melting into a warm gold that reflected the fire that destroyed her home. A fire that would spread and engulf the rotting world they had inherited. 

  
  
  


_siderealSandman presents_

_Rift Wars, Part II_

**_Mending Warped Designs_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your goddamned right this fic is titled after a Sidereal Charm. 
> 
> And so begins Act 2. For fans who are just stumbling on this fic, welcome! You definitely need to go back and read Truth and Consequences first or be woefully lost! Go ahead; I'll be here for you to yell at when you get back. 
> 
> For returning readers, welcome back! I am raring and roaring to get back into this verse. Truth be told, T&C was a necessary evil to set up this story. I've had scenes bouncing around my head for at least a year and I am pumped to get to writing them.


	2. Five On It

* * *

_Paris, France_

_2024_

* * *

A thundering _boom_ split the early afternoon air, setting off parked car alarms and rattling glass. The people walking down the street stopped in their tracks, turning to look down the road towards a rising column of smoke. A familiar, pre-recorded voice from the loudspeakers installed every few dozen meters confirmed the suspicion at the forefront of everyone’s mind. 

_“People of Paris,”_ Rena Rouge’s voice said in French. _“Please remain calm. There is a dangerous anomaly currently roaming the streets. Please follow the flashing orange lights to the nearest ARK Security Bunker and await further instructions.”_

A mechanical _roar_ filled the air and drowned out Rena Rouge’s standard warning as it started repeating in English. At a nearby cafe, Nathanael watched his overpriced sparkling water tremble as heavy footsteps shook the ground, growing closer and closer with each passing second before strangely falling silent. 

“You think it was a false alarm?” Marc asked almost hopefully. 

The ground beneath the street buckled, asphalt cracking as a gigantic robotic dinosaur head burst out of the ground, spitting steam and clawing its way out of the dirt with razor-sharp claws. The mechanized tyrannosaurus hauled itself out of the sewer, charging down the street and dragging both a heavy safe and a beleaguered Rena Rouge behind it. 

“Can't be sure,” Nathanael said dryly, tugging his boyfriend into an alley as the crowds of people surrounding them scattered, making their way towards a large orange bunker embedded in the street. Rows of orange lights lit up as they ran, guiding them towards a large, reinforced steel door and an orange-clad ARK worker waving them in. 

_“Hello Evillustrator.”_ Nathanael stopped as a familiar voice echoed in his head. A purple overlay floated over his eyes as the pen in his pocket vibrated. “ _I hope this isn’t a bad time.”_

“Looks like you’re up,” Marc said as the people rushing past them stopped to snap a picture with their phones. 

“ _We have a bit of a...dinosaur problem,”_ Monarch sighed, the irritation heavy in her voice. 

“Again?” Nathanael asked, looking up as a steel-winged pterodactyl swooped overhead pursuing Queen Bee. “I thought Dr. Oliver was back in prison?” 

_“Well, when one makes gigantic mechanical dinosaurs for fun, a prison cell is hardly an obstacle to overcome,”_ Monarch sniffed. “ _We shall have to get ARK to build us a more secure holding cell. In the meantime, I was hoping you could finally help Bluebird and I pull ahead of Queen Bee's team.”_

“Always happy to ruin Chloe’s day,” Nathanael said, eyes closing as his familiar costume of Evillustrator washed over him. “Where do we start?” 

* * *

[Rena Rouge never thought she would miss the akuma. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3zMGLXBBzE)

At least akuma had a set beginning and end; at least _they_ could be dealt with in a way that didn’t involve more property damage than Rena Rouge cared to think about. More than anything, akuma had an _excuse_ for acting and dressing like deranged maniacs. 

_“Give up, Rena Rouge! Your feeble illusions are no match for the combined mechanical and paleontological genius of Professor Pterodactyl!”_

Dr. Thomas Oliver had no such excuse. But he did serve as an excellent example of why double majors in paleontology and mechanical engineering should be outlawed. 

Rena Rouge narrowly avoided a jet of white hot steam fired from a vent on the back of the dinosaur's tail as she hung on for dear life, boots digging into the plates as her fingers gripped the dinosaur’s spines for support. 

“ _Dr. O’s got some new toys, doesn’t he?”_ Carapace’s voice chirped in her ear as the dinobot rounded the corner, tail swinging wildly in an effort to shake Rena Rouge off. 

“Why can’t he just play with _Jurassic Park_ action figures like other paleontologists?” Rena Rouge grunted. “You guys in position?” 

“ _Ready to receive,”_ Carapace said. “ _Just bring him to me, Foxy~!”_

“En route; just need to-” Rena Rouge’s blood ran cold as she saw a small figure in the middle of the road in front of her. “Kid; kid in the street!” 

The child with the gigantic stuffed T-Rex dangling from one hand looked up at the mechanical monster that bore down on her with a look of fear and awe. She either didn’t want to run or was somehow frozen in fear as the titanic machine grew closer and closer to her. 

“ _Queen Bee, Bluebird; intercept!”_ Rena Rouge called into her earpiece as she hauled herself up the dinosaur’s back.

_“I’m halfway across town with two of his drones on me!”_ Queen Bee chirped as Rena Rouge banged on the dinosaur’s head. _"Stall him!"_

“Dr. Oliver, _stop!_ There’s a _child_ in the street!” She cried. 

_“Oh, I’m not_ **_that_ ** _gullible, Rena Rouge,”_ Dr. Oliver crowed through the tinny mechanical speakers, increasing the speed of his machine. “ _Your illusions have fooled me for the last time!”_

Scrambling up the back of the dinosaur, she fought her way up to the cockpit in the T-Rex’s mouth. Rena Rouge struggled to hang on to the mechanical spines as the apparatus bobbed and weaved with each perilous step that brought them closer to the hapless child. 

_“_ Any day now, guys!” Rena Rouge called, voice cracking as a powdery blue feather floated down from the sky and landed on the child’s stuffed animal. Light grew and shimmered and grew around the child in the shape of a gargantuan feathered T-Rex that let out a _roar_ of its own as it lunged for the robot, jaws clamping around its throat and stopping it dead in its tracks before it could harm her. 

_Too close,_ Rena Rouge thought to herself as Bluebird floated past them and landed in front of the girl between the Sentimonster’s legs. 

“I know the dino-robot is cool,” Bluebird said, carefully picking the awestruck little girl up in his arms. “But I think _yours_ is cooler.” 

“ _Oh come on, did Luka beat me to it?!”_ Queen Bee hissed as the burning wreckage of a shattered pterodactyl drone crashed into the river. “ _I was busy breaking Dr. Dino-dork’s toys.”_

_“That’s one more point for the kohai,”_ Monarch chuckled. _“I believe that puts us ahead of Team Paris at this point, doesn’t it?”_

_“Ooooh what was that about us never catching up to you, Queenie?”_ Bluebird snickered as Rena Rouge shoved her her staff into the gap between the dinosaur’s head and neck. 

_“Shut up!”_

“Don’t count your lead just _yet_ ,” Rena Rouge grunted, wrenching the steel backwards and exposing the cockpit where a man with a black ponytail and gigantic mirrored goggles sat behind a complicated set of controls. “What’s up, Doc?” 

The mad scientist fumbled for a large, unwieldy weapon, aiming it at Rena Rouge’s head. She ducked out of the way of a hissing bolt of energy as it sailed past her, almost singing her hair. Falling back, she lost footing on the smooth plates on the side of the creature, slipping off and tumbling towards the ground-

Rena Rouge halted inches from the ground as Queen Bee hand closed around her ankle yanking her up into her arms bridal style. 

“And they say picking up girls in Paris is hard,” Queen Bee purred, steering the pair of them through the air as the dinobot hobbled down the street, the sentimonster hot on its tail. “How y doin’, toots?” 

“Peachy,” Rena Rouge said, gripping Queen Bee’s neck as two more pterodactyl themed drones zoomed past them, wings narrowly missing Queen Bee’s. “I feel like the laser beams might be stepping out of the dino theming a little bit.” 

“Dr. Dilophosaurus needs a brand manager.” 

“Apparently he’s _Professor Pterodactyl_ now.” 

“ _I was under the impression he went by P.h.Dino,”_ Monarch chimed in as the dinosaur Sentimonster lunged out of a side-street, grabbing the machine in its spectral jaws. 

“ _The man can’t even pick a supervillain name and stick with it,”_ Bluebird sighed.

_“Half-asses like him shouldn’t even be in business,"_ Carapace agreed. 

“Let’s make him _extinct_ then,” Rena Rouge said, grabbing the end of Queen Bee’s chain as she swung overhead. Two pterodactyl drones swooped in, mouths opening and firing superheated beams of plasma at Queen Bee. On cue, Rena Rouge leapt out of Queen Bee’s arms, unspooling the chain as Queen Bee zipped up, swinging her around to land on the back of one of the drones. The mechanical dinosaur’s head craned backwards, but Rena Rouge managed to hook her staff around the creature’s chin, steering it by applying pressure to its wings. 

“ _Evilustrator here,”_ Evilustrator’s voice chirped through Monarch’s communication relay. _"What can I do?"_

_“Go away!”_ Queen Bee squealed. _“This is A-List Heroes only!”_

_“Bite me!”_ Evilustrator replied cheerfully as one of the pterodactyl robots flew into a gigantic butterfly net sketched out of thin air. _“You’re_ **_not_ ** _the queen I take my orders from.”_

“Uh oh, looks like we got competition,” Rena Rouge said, steering the Pterodactyl drone towards the now smoking dinobot. “Shelly, you ready?” 

“ _Pokeball ready to go_ ,” Carapace said, his emerald form appearing on a nearby rooftop. 

_“Oh, no you don’t!”_ Monarch hissed, rounding the street corner beneath Rena Rouge as she tucked into a dive. _“Evillustrator, bring me that fossil before Carapace gets his mitts on him!”_

“ _I-I’m beginning to feel very bullied right now!”_ Dr. Oliver squeaked from his creaking machine, trying to clamber out of the cockpit before the entire superhero population of Paris bore down on him. _“This is like fifth grade all over a-”_

Rena Rouge leapt off the back of the drone, feet tucking against her chest and lashing out as her heels collided with the back of Dr. Oliver’s head. Tumbling out of the two-story dinosaur, he flipped through the air, landing inside a bubble of energy a split second after Evilustrator drew a large cage on top of him. 

“Point!” Bluebird chirped. 

_“Noooooooooo!”_ Queen Bee moaned floating down besides Bluebird. “Come _on,_ we had that! He’s in Carapace’s bubble!” 

“Inside _Evilustrator’s_ cage,” Monarch said, shouldering her cane as she strolled slowly up to the group. Evilustrator sketched a giant pair of lips that blew a wet raspberry in Queen Bee’s face before she shattered them in half with a well placed kick. “Which means, by the Egyptian Ratslap rules-” 

“-which _you_ fought for, by the way,” Bluebird reminded Queen Bee. 

“-whoever’s hand is on the villain at the end of the battle gets the points,” Monarch said, raising her hand to catch Bluebird’s with a hi-five. “ _Ya-bloody-_ _tta.”_

His hand floated forward and fell down to catch Monarch’s in a low-five as he stepped past her. “ _Ya_ - _bloody- tta_ , baby!” 

“Cheaters! It is _so_ unfair that you get to just call up any akuma you want,” Queen Bee huffed. 

“Any two akuma,” Evilustrator said. "And we've been rebranded-" 

“ _Shut uuuuuuuup, Nath!”_ Queen Bee groaned. “Why are you here still?! Thank you for your service, now kindly go f-” 

Queen Bee stopped herself short as the little girl clutching the T-Rex plushie looked up at her with wide eyes. 

“..,f-fly a kite,” Queen Bee said with a nervous smile. “Yeah, let’s go with that…” 

“You were gonna say the f-word,” the girl said matter-of-factly, drawing surprised looks from everyone, including the imprisoned mad-scientist. 

“...okay, but I _didn’t_ though,” Queen Bee chuckled nervously. 

“But you were gonna,” the girl replied. 

“But I _didn’t_.” 

“But you were gonna.” 

“But I- _ow!”_ Queen Bee yelped as Carapace tugged on the end of her ponytail. 

“Arguing with a five year old is bad for your image, honeybee,” Carapace said. 

“I’m six and a half,” the girl replied. 

“Yeah....well, I’m twenty-one, so.... _nyeh_ ,” Queen Bee pouted, sticking her tongue out to the child’s amusement. 

“And she doesn’t act a _day_ over four,” Monarch chuckled from behind her palm. “You really should set a better example for your juniors, _senpai_.” 

“How unrefined,” Bluebird said, patting the sentimonster on the flank. 

“Absolutely unrefined,” Monarch sighed. 

“Dare I say... _uncouth_?” 

“Dare, Bluebird; _dare_.” 

“Shut _up!_ ” Queen Bee snapped, stamping her heel and pointing to the kid. “Take the little girl home before she learns mad-paleontology from _this_ loser.” 

“As soon as we get the all-clear,” Bluebird asked, glancing to Carapace. He closed his eyes for a moment, head cocking in several different directions before shaking his head. 

“Can’t feel anything else out there,” Carapace said. “Dr. Oliver must not have brought the stegosaurus tanks out to play this time.” 

“...actually, they’re called _stegozor-_ ” Dr. Oliver flinched as Carapace banged his fist on the cage bars. 

“What the hell is _wrong_ with you?” Carapace clucked. “A man as _smart_ as you should not be acting this _stupid_!” 

“Do you ever think of, like, curing cancer instead of being a toxic nerd who makes robot dinosaurs?” Queen Bee sniffed, leaning on Carapace’s shoulder. 

“I don’t wanna cure cancer,” Dr. Oliver mumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I wanna make robot dinosaurs…” 

“I can think of _ten_ non-lethal uses for robot dinosaurs that _don’t_ involve robbing a bank,” Rena Rouge said, kicking the safe the dinobot had dragged behind, leaving a kilometer-long gash in the street. “Nath, can you...do your thing?” 

Evilustrator stared at the wreckage, scratching his head with his pen. “I’ll give it my best shot, but I can’t promise it’ll be perfect.” 

Sticking his tongue between his teeth, he began sketching a new lamp post in the spot where the broken one used to be. Evilustrator could sketch a lot of things, but he couldn’t accurately hook the lamp back up to the electrical grid , which meant the tinny electric light it gave off would be on at all hours of the day or night. And while this saved the city a few euros on the electricity bill, it didn’t do anything to endear him to the people who had lamps shining into their windows in the middle of the night. 

Hardly perfect, but with Ladybug gone, Paris needed to settle for _good enough_. 

“ _Get the bee!”_

_“Don’t you dare!”_

Rena Rouge looked up to see Queen Bee fluttering away as the girl astride her T-Rex steed chased her in circles. Bluebird’s legs kicked back and forth as he watched the mayhem play out, speaking with Monarch who perched on the railing beside him. The smile, at last, seemed to be genuine; not free of the burden he carried around with him, but in defiance of it. If nothing else, the time apart from Marinette had seen him grow in more ways than one, from the uncertain follower to the head of the Champion/Sentimonster vanguard. 

Monarch’s eyes followed him as he got up to lead the chase against an increasingly shrieky Queen Bee. The all-clear alarm sounded, and people began milling out of bunkers, fishing their cell-phones out and snapping pictures of the lighthearted scene. Rena Rouge noticed a few regular contributors to the Miracublog in the crowd and made a mental note to follow up with them after she got home. After three years, the only area Rena Rouge felt that she clearly surpassed Ladybug was in brand management. Marinette was savvy enough, but kept the public at arm’s length and was afraid to look too vulnerable. Rena Rouge started her team in a pit of public trust and had to claw her way out of sidekick status one photo-op at a time. The juxtaposition between a successful supervillain takedown and superheroes playing with a scared little kid was _priceless_. 

As was the twinkling look in Monarch’s eye. 

_Something happened there recently,_ Rena Rouge thought with a grin as Queen Bee flew behind Carapace’s shoulders. 

“Help, a mean six year old is chasing me!” Queen Bee wailed. 

“Six and a half!” Bluebird and Carapace chorused as the gigantic T-Rex leaned down to sniff Queen Bee’s hair. 

“You make being a beat-cop easy.” Rena Rouge turned to see Officer Raincomprix step out of a squad car and eye Dr. Oliver warily. “Let me guess; the ARK facility, right?” 

“Unless you think lockup downtown is dino-proof,” Rena Rouge said, watching Dr. Oliver as he was led into the back of the police car. 

“Something tells me this isn’t the last headache we're gonna have to deal with,” Officer Raincomprix said, chasing a pair of painkillers with a sip of water. “Is there a convention for weirdos in town this week?” 

“The weirdo convention has been in Paris longer than that,” Rena Rouge sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Does the Mayor need a debrief tonight?” 

“I think Dad will be happy with a written report,” Officer Sabrina Raincomprix said, patting the back of the police car and watching it drive off. “We’re still putting the park back together after that goth-girl reject tried to kill her ex-boyfriend with an army of the undead.” 

“I really miss the time in my life when that would have been the weirdest thing to happen in a week,” Rena Rouge chuckled. “If you need any extra support, you know how to get a hold of us.” 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Sabrina said, glancing around before leaning closer to Rena Rouge. “Any chance that support could come in red and black?" 

“Ladybug is still...occupied,” Rena Rouge said with a tight smile, fighting down the bitter bubble of resentment that grew at the mention of Ladybug. “I’ll have Monarch send a Champion to help with the cleanup; would that work?” 

“I’ll take all the help we can get,” Sabrina shrugged, glancing at her watch. “Think you could get Her Highness to help with the cleanup?” 

“When has Chloe ever volunteered for dirty work?” Rena Rouge laughed, lightly bumping Sabrina on the shoulder as she jogged over to join the rest of her team. 

“Can I keep him?” The girl asked her mother as Queen Bee floated her down off the sentimonster’s back. The large t-rex gave the girl a loving head-nuzzle before Bluebird snapped his fingers and reverted it to a feather. 

“I don’t think your house is big enough,” Bluebird said, crouching down in front of the girl and handing her stuffed t-rex back. “But I’ll tell you what; if the mean robot man comes back, I’ll know who to call.” 

The girl’s mother looked worried until Rena Rouge shook her head behind the girl’s back. “Psst,” Rena Rouge whispered to Monarch. “You’re _mooning_.” 

Monarch’s dreamy expression melted away, but the color in her cheeks only darkened as Bluebird glanced in her direction. 

“That one’s going _straight_ to the top of the fan Twitter,” Rena Rouge said, nodding at the camera flashes across the street. 

“Oh, _hell,_ I hate having my love life so public,” Monarch muttered, ducking behind Rena Rouge’s shoulder. 

“It’s a _love life_ now?” Rena Rouge said, eyes flashing with sudden interest. Alya Cesaire was, at her heart, a schemer and a romantic; without Marinette to fuss over, her energy turned to more fertile fields. “What happened?” 

“I’ll...tell you later,” Monarch said, shooting Bluebird a glance over Rena Rouge’s shoulder. “It’s not a conversation I want recorded and shared.” 

“That juicy, huh?” Rena Rouge said, making eye-contact with a suddenly nervous-looking Bluebird across the street. “Well, you had better come through with the details then-”

Rena Rouge trailed off as she suddenly caught sight of a very worried expression on Carapace’s face. His smiling, joking demeanor disappeared as he looked like someone had just stuck an ice-cube down the back of his shirt. It was an expression that she had seen dozens of times in the past few years and it was never one she enjoyed seeing. 

It meant that somewhere very close, something _very_ bad was happening. 

“Babe?” Rena Rouge said, watching as Carapace’s eyes turned in the direction of the Louvre. 

“Rescind the all-clear...and get Tigress to start heading over to the Louvre,” Carapace said, already running down the street as the crowd looked on in concern. “One of my wards just tripped; they're being _robbed."_

* * *

_Paris, France_

_Louvre Special Acquisitions - Security Room_

* * *

“So this was like, what, Michelangelo’s?” Marco asked, leaning down to stare through the bulletproof plexi-glass at the faded manuscript inside. 

“Wrong Ninja Turtle; this was DaVinci’s,” Michel said, slapping his partner’s hand as he reached out to touch it. “What the hell are you doing?” 

“Oh, are you worried I’m gonna _smudge_ it?” Marco sniffed, shaking his hand. 

“Yeah, by all means, let’s explain to Bill Gates that his priceless piece of history is getting prodded by a couple of security grunts,” Michel said, tugging Marco away from the manuscript and walking past rows of paintings, tapestries, and other artwork not currently on display. 

“Kinda fucked up, if you think about it,” Marco mused. “To be _rich_ enough to just _buy_ something like that and just, what, lend it out for no reason?” 

“Well, when you have more money than you or your descendants could spend, I guess you run out of ideas on what to spend it on,” Michel muttered, noticing another figure making their way into the vault. “Jean? I thought you were working the exhibit halls.” 

“Whole is is on lockdown,” Jean said with a shrug that seemed a little too rehearsed. There was also a glassy look in Jean’s eye that Michel didn’t care for in the slightest. “Guess there’s some kinda ruckus going on downtown.” 

“How come nobody told us?” Marco said, pressing the mic on his radio. “Ella, Jean’s down here saying the museum went into lockdown; how come nobody told us?” 

A disquieting hiss of static answered him. 

“Something’s not right here,” Marco said, reaching for his out-bound phone. 

“No signal down here,” Jean said, stepping past Marco. “Even if there was, the cops are tangled up right now; it’ll probably be a while before anyone shows…” 

Michel calmly unclipped the taser on his belt as Jean approached the manuscript at the far back of the room. “Gotta say, Billy's got some _nice_ taste; most guys that rich blow their money on some _stupid_ shit, but buying _the_ Codex Leicester? Now _that_ is a classy move.” 

“Hey...didn’t you have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon?” Marco said, squinting at the back of Jean’s head. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you-” 

Jean’s body suddenly twitched, shoulders jerking in an odd angle as the back of his jacket started to bulge. The fabric melted away as a slim figure dressed in a tailored black suit with gloves and polished boots to match. The back of their jacket was emblazoned with a scarlet and gold salamander, and as they turned, Marco could see that their entire face was covered by a featureless white face mask embedded with a gold and red lizard on the crown. 

The Salamander stepped out of Jean’s back, leaving the unconscious figure collapsed on the floor as they brushed their coat off. 

“I have to say, I expected better from the finest museum in the-” The Salamander blinked behind their darkened eye-slits, looking down at the prongs of the taser embedded in his chest. 

“...Toad?” The Salamander sighed through their nose. “Can you handle this?" 

Marco and Michel’s temples clunked together as a gargantuan figure in a black suit knocked their heads together. Their mask was crowned with a green and gold toad that glittered in the dim light, identical to the one stitched in mystical threads on the back of their jacket. 

“Thank you,” The Salamander said, meandering over to the manuscript in the box as The Toad hefted both guards, one in each hand, and dropped them behind a cabinet. 

“This is going a little too well,” The Toad said, glancing over their shoulder. “Hurry up.” 

“Don’t _rush me_ ,” The Salamander said, examining the table the manuscript box was set on. “There’s some kind of pressure plate here.” 

“And?” 

“ _And,_ I don’t want to find out what the owner of _Microsoft_ does to protect his property,” The Salamander snapped, hands drifting over the box as they inspected it for traps. “Oh...really?” 

The Salamander grabbed the box, not even flinching as iron bars surrounded the podium, locking him inside with the manuscript as the alarms blared. 

“That’s a little disappointing,” The Salamander said, flipping the box over in their hands. "I expected better out of you Bill." 

“What are you _doing?!”_ The Toad snapped, watching the Salamander’s form shimmer as it passed through the bars with the manuscript in tow. 

“They know we’re here already,” The Salamander said, brushing past the larger figure and lifting a hand to his ear. “Captain, we’re exiting the vault. Package secure.” 

_“Move fast; Fox and Friends just bailed on a photo-op and are heading your way.”_

The Toad shot a worried look at their partner. “You said you had _handled_ outgoing security communications!” 

“I _did_ ,” The Salamander insisted, jogging up the steps. “Main security systems won’t be online again for another thirty minutes; someone must’ve tipped them off.” 

The Salamander paused at the top of the staircase as a flickering green light caught their attention. A small, glowing green turtle shell was etched into the stairs, faintly pulsing with emerald light as The Salamander walked over it. 

“Since _when_ could _they_ do _magic_?!” The Salamander huffed, breaking into a sprint as they slid into the main hall.

“I've been taking night-classes,” Carapace’s tall, broad-shouldered frame stepped out from behind a marble statue at the base of the stairs. “Coding, business management, arcane studies 101; you can take a college class on just about anything these days." 

“I'm thinking of double majoring in Hospitality Management and Hexing,” Queen Bee said, floating down from the ceiling and perching on Carapace's shoulder. "I really hope you got that at the gift shop; they're kinda touchy about their stuff around here." 

“Downright possessive, if you ask me,” Rena Rouge said, materializing out of thin air beside her partners. “But be that as it may, this isn’t an art-store. Why don’t you put the priceless historical artifact down and come with us?” 

_“Rena,”_ Tigress’ voice said through their communicators. “ _Just got out of my shoot; is everything okay?”_

“Still figuring that bit out,” Rena Rouge muttered. “Protect the main entrance; if they slip past us-” 

“ _Alya, we have two black vans approaching from the south of the building,”_ Monarch said as Bluebird circled high above the glass pyramid with his partner in his arms. “ _Two figures in white masks are getting out.”_

“Two in here too,” Rena Rouge relayed back, taking her spot behind Carapace’s shoulder. “Looks like they want DaVinci’s notebook…” 

“Yeah, and I want Daft Punk’s helmets to put on my work-station,” Carapace scoffed. 

“Well, I know what _I’m_ getting you for your birthday,” Queen Bee said. 

“You already _know_ what I want for my birthday,” Carapace said. “How bout it, chief? You want to drop the box or do I need to get more persuasive?” 

“Ah ah ah; you _didn’t_ say the magic word,” The Salamander clucked, leaning out of the way as The Toad threw all his weight behind a singular punch from halfway across the hall. Rena Rouge watched the man’s arm extend, shooting past The Salamander’s ear and slamming into Carapace’s shield nearly twenty meters away. Rena Rouge leaned against Carapace’s back, bracing him as he absorbed the blow and battered the stretchy appendage away. 

“ _Please_ go straight to _hell_ then!” Queen Bee snapped, jumping off Carapace's shoulders and diving for The Salamander. Clutching the box to their chest, The Salamander shimmered through the floor, disappearing as The Toad cleared the hall in one mighty bound. Like a cannon ball, they came crashing down towards Carapace, slamming into his shield and knocking him and Rena Rouge back across the polished marble floor. Rena Rouge managed to roll out of the way just as The Toad slammed into Carapace’s shield again, shattering the marble and driving him deeper into the floor. 

“Get the book!” Carapace wheezed, turtling up as another titanic blow slammed into his shield, toppling statues nearby. A shimmer of light caught Rena Rouge’s attention as The Salamander materialized near the exit, tearing out of the building as fast as they could. 

“Oh no you _don’t_ ,” Queen Bee hissed, zipping after The Salamander as Rena Rouge launched her attack. Her heel connected with The Toad’s chest as they raised their arm for another blow, but hitting him felt off; like punching an incredibly large rubber ball, her blow seemed to glide off, not registering as The Toad turned to glare at her behind the mask. 

“Hands off the artwork, asshole!” Rena Rouge hissed, slamming her elbow into The Toad’s head. It twitched imperceptibly, recoiling as The Toad grabbed her face in the palm of one meaty hand and extended his arm straight up. Like a carnival ride, Rena Rouge shot up and smashed through the ceiling of the glass pyramid, tumbling on the courtyard flagstones and rolling to a stop in time to see two white masked figures approaching, one with a purple and gold centipede attached to their mask's forehead and one with a blue and gold cobra leering down from their brow. 

“Bluebird, a little air-support would be great right about now,” Rena Rouge said, pushing herself up off the ground. Behind the masked figures, a small heavily armed unit in full black body-gear stepped out of the cars, weapons trained on Rena Rouge. "Gonna run a screen play; be ready to jump in." 

_"I'll wait for the smoke,_ " Bluebird said as Rena Rouge picked her flute up off the ground

“This is a little excessive for a band of art thieves, don't you think?” Rena Rouge said, fingering her flute’s holes as the masked figures advanced. The Cobra seemed to be a little taller and a little more muscular than The Centipede, but otherwise Rena Rouge couldn’t get any clear, distinguishing details from either of them. 

“Orders?” The Cobra asked, raising a hand to their ear as a second crash of glass sent Carapace tumbling through the quickly deteriorating glass pyramid, bouncing off the ground as The Toad leapt after him. They raised their hand to strike again, but a silvery chain with a black and yellow top on the end lashed out and snagged their wrist. 

“There is a _very_ short list of people who get to put hands on Carapace,” Queen Bee grunted, struggling against The Toad’s strength. “And _you_ are not on it!” 

“Understood,” The Cobra replied, gesturing with a wave of their hand as The Toad yanked their hand out of the chain. “Engage the vigilantes!” 

“Sir!” The guards echoed, advancing on Rena Rouge as she raised her flute to her lips. A quick, trilling melody echoed throughout the courtyard and a cloud of thick, orange smoke poured out of the end of her flute, masking her from sight as it settled like a blanket over the crowd. 

“Visibility hampered,” The Cobra relayed, raising his hand and materializing a heavy black cane from a puff of smoke. “Advancing; Centipede-” 

“I don’t take _orders_ from _you_ ,” The Centipede growled, watching as the first of the guards entered Rena Rouge’s smokescreen. The sound of body armor being struck with a heavy blunt object filtered through the smoke as The Cobra advanced, the end of their walking stick trailing along the ground as they stepped over a few unconscious guards. Their eyes narrowed as the orange smoke closed in on all sides, the stick held loosely at one side as they waited for the inevitable attack to come. 

The Cobra raised their stick to block a strike from Rena Rouge at their blind side. A flutter of movement heralded Bluebird’s arrival, but a step to the side was all it took to cause his entry kick to miss. The Cobra’s cane snagged the back of Bluebird’s cape, flipping him overhead as Monarch appeared through the mist, sword-cane drawn and lunging for The Cobra’s mask. Monarch’s eyes widened and managed to twist her sword out of the way, narrowly avoiding nicking Bluebird’s throat but leaving a shallow cut on his shoulder as The Cobra kicked Bluebird into Monarch. 

“Cue the Bee,” The Cobra muttered, blindly swinging their cane overhead and clobbering Queen Bee in the side of the head as she rushed to join the fray. The smoke cleared, and The Cobra stood tall amidst a pile of disabled guards and superheroes picking themselves up off the floor. 

"Show-off," The Centipede grumbled. 

“Regroup!” Rena Rouge called, pulling back as The Cobra tucked their cane under their arm, adopting a loose fighting stance as The Centipede rushed in, a smooth jab aimed straight for Rena Rouge’s face. 

“Rena!” Carapace snapped his fingers, putting up a bubble to protect Rena Rouge as The Toad battered his fists against Carapace’s shield. He planted his feet as The Toad charged, ready to absorb the blow until a pair of hands closed around his ankles. 

“Don’t _flip_ ,” The Salamander chuckled, floating out of the ground and pulling Carapace’s ankles forward as The Toad slammed into his shield. Carapace flipped back, head banging on the ground as The Toad grabbed him by his ankle and hurled him like a frisbee through the broken remains of the pyramid’s side. 

“Hey, _two questions,_ ” Bluebird said, extending his fan’s blades and taking a defensive stance behind it as the four figures closed around them. “Who are these guys and _why_ are they kicking our asses right now?!” 

“Good questions,” Rena Rouge said, glancing between them to see which one held the Codex. “Where’s the box?” 

“I’d be more worried about your boyfriend if I were you.” Rena Rouge turned to see a shorter, slimmer figure with a gold and silver scorpion embedded on their mask carrying the box under one arm. 

“Seems like he took a bad fall there,” The Scorpion said, watching Queen Bee help Carapace struggle to his feet, wall-sized sheets of glass falling off his body as he pushed himself off the ground. 

“Carapace is capable of handling worse than you’re capable of,” Rena Rouge said icily. “Hand over the Codex.” 

“I would, but that would render this entire afternoon a colossal waste of time,” The Scorpion said, nodding to The Salamander. “But since we’ll be working together, I felt it was only courteous to introduce ourselves...and pass along a message to Mme. Ladybug from my employers.” 

Monarch and Queen Bee stiffened. “What do you want with Ladybug?” 

The Scorpion reached into their coat and produced a white envelope that she flicked across the courtyard to Rena Rouge. “An invitation. Her eyes only; pass it along, won’t you?” 

“Do we look like the bloody post office to you?” Monarch snapped.

“Tigress, can you get behind her?” Rena Rouge muttered quietly. 

_“More of those guys in black are coming up the side stairs!”_ Tigress said, the sound of metal clanging on body-armor filtering through the communicator. “ _If I move-hey hands off!-we’re gonna get overrun!”_

_They have us absolutely flat-footed,_ Rena Rouge thought bitterly. “I’m surprised you’re not cleaning this place out,” Rena Rouge continued, watching Carapace out of the corner of her eye. “All this priceless art and you go for a book?” 

“My clients like to read,” The Scorpion said, examining the manuscript through the glass. 

“Sound like cultured people,” Rena Rouge said, trying to buy Carapace as much time as she could. “Why don’t you introduce us?” 

The Salamander and The Toad craned their necks in The Scorpion’s direction. _That one's calling the shots then,_ Rena Rouge mused. 

“They’ll introduce themselves if you prove to be _valuable_ enough,” The Scorpion said. “But I’ll put in a really good word for you if you let us leave unscathed.” 

“Sorry,” Rena Rouge said as a shimmering green bubble popped overhead. Carapace had struggled to his feet, closing ranks with the rest of his team and visibly leaning on Bluebird’s shoulder for support. “The shell doesn’t dismiss you, _I_ dismiss you.” 

“Cute,” The Salamander chuckled derisively, banging their fist on the bubble and watching it flicker unsteadily. “Though I think your man’s got issues keeping it up.” 

“If you’re waiting for him to tire out, you’re going to be waiting a while,” Rena Rouge said. 

“Yeah, trust me, we’ve _tried,”_ Queen Bee said. 

“We need to leave,” The Cobra said suddenly, turning to The Scorpion. “The probability of successful mission completion is dwindling.” 

“Seriously?” The Scorpion asked. 

“The Old Masters will be here in two minutes and fifteen seconds in all future scenarios,” The Cobra said with a degree of certainty that made Rena Rouge think that number wasn’t just plucked out of the air. “The police have already arrived to assist the Tiger; they will be here soon and will capture us if we are not gone in the next seventy-two seconds.” 

“Fine,” The Scorpion sighed, snapping their fingers. Black smoke filtered out of their hand and a black tonfa with a pointed tip materialized. “We’ll pick this up another time; until then-” 

A bolt of lightning streaked out of the end of the tonfa, colliding with the turtle dome overhead. The field hissed and crackled, shattering into millions of motes of light that rained down on a very confused looking Carapace. 

“What the _hell_?” Carapace muttered as The Salamander clapped their hands together, expanding a shimmering red portal rimmed with red flames. 

“Oh, before I forget,” The Scorpion said, reaching into their jacket and producing a familiar looking wooden box. “I was told to return these to you...since we no longer need them. Courtesy of the Poison Clan.” 

The Scorpion tossed the box high in the air as she turned to leave. Rena Rouge watched as necklaces, rings, and pins fell to the ground, clinking on the flagstones as they rushed to collect them. 

“Get back here!” Queen Bee hissed, zipping across the courtyard as the five turned to leave. The Toad turned to intercept Queen Bee, grabbing her wrist and holding her tight while the other four escaped. 

“ _I’m sorry_.” Queen Bee blinked as The Toad’s distorted voice came from behind the mask. The quiet words stunned her long enough for The Toad to give Queen Been a gentle shove and disappear back into the portal with their teammates. 

“Damnit!” Queen Bee hissed, stamping her foot down in frustration. A harsh _snap_ answered her as her heel shattered a pair of black glasses, the ancient looking frames bending under her foot. She bent down, picking up the broken glass with a growing sense of dread. 

“Hey...wasn’t one of the other Miraculous a pair of glasses?” Queen Bee said, looking over to see Rena Rouge cradling a necklace in her hands and Bluebird staring at a dull blue bracelet. 

“Well...we found the Miraculous,” Carapace sighed, turning an inert ring in his hands over. “But what happened to the kwami?” 

“Bring the Storm,” Rena Rouge muttered, half-hoping her fears would prove unfounded. Silence answered her, punctured by the sound of approaching police sirens. 

“...they’re gone,” Monarch whispered, hand clasped over her mouth in horror. “The kwami aren't in the Miraculous anymore...” 

"How the hell does that work?" Carapace said. "What happened to them?"

[The evening news arrived in time to capture Rena Rouge’s snarl of frustration as she hurled the now-empty necklace to the ground.](https://soundcloud.com/juanchov182/radiohead-fivestep)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dinobot Fight Music: Street Fight (Smallpools)   
> Ending Credits Music: Five Step (Radiohead vs Dave Brubek as arranged by Fatlicious!)
> 
> Getting back into the swing of things, trying to balance plot with character building moments. Next chapter will be split between Team Paris and either Chat Noir or Marinette depending on who I feel like introducing first. We have 3 catchup scenes that are pretty interchangeable before the gang starts getting back together (and all the fun that entails) 
> 
> I am never more envious of artists than when I have to describe costumes; hopefully the garish nightmare of the Poison Clan came across clearly.

**Author's Note:**

> And so begins Act 2. 
> 
> For fans who are just stumbling on this fic, welcome! You definitely need to go back and read Truth and Consequences first or be woefully lost! Go ahead; I'll be here for you to yell at when you get back. 
> 
> For returning readers, welcome back! I am raring and roaring to get back into this verse. Truth be told, T&C was a necessary evil to set up this story. I've had scenes bouncing around my head for at least a year and I am pumped to get to writing them.


End file.
